[Eugene Church]

THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Thursday, May 1, 2059

RED CAPS QUICK OUT OF THE GATE IN TU NORTH
The Oxford Red Caps (16-7), the prohibitive favorite to capture the Tycobbian North this year, have rocketed to the top of division and have the best record in the Islandian Pro Alliance for the opening month of April... they are being chased by runner-up Hartsdale (15-9), third place Blue Lake (14-9) and last year's champion Arlon (12-11), tied with White River (12-11) for fourth place in the standings... trailing behind in the 6th spot are the North Hills Hawks (10-13), 7th-place Fairfax (9-14) and last place Mahaska (5-18).

Oxford has won the Tycobbian North 3 times in the last 7 years... the most recent pennant came in '57... and the Red Caps are already rolling toward another division title with a great first month of the new season, tied with Elnora of the RU East for the top mark in the IPA (16-7)... this year the club has stepped its pitching staff up to another level... the team ERA is 3.20 (5th)... this is the best ERA in the team's history... coupled with its fine batting attack, Oxford looks hard-to-beat this season... the top starters are Meldon Eddington (4-0/2.48), Wiley Beckford (4-0/1.88), Dingo Willmon (4-0/4.02), R. C. Russell (1-2/2.08) and ace Maury Statler (1-3/4.41), who had a tough April... the high-powered attack hasn't gotten going yet, but it still put up a lot of runs... the Red Caps scored 113 runs (6th), batted .259 (14th) and rapped 23 out of the park (12th) in a slow month... budding star LF Showboat Lynn (.329/6 HR/17 RBI/19 R/1 SB) led the offense with help from superstar 1B Buddy Blackford (.300/2 HR/16 RBI/9 R) and SS Roger Bajon (.292/1 HR/11 RBI/11 R)... Blackford was honored last year with the TU Golden Bat and Most Valuable Player Award... together Blackford and rookie Lynn totaled 93 homers... this could a Pro Cup year in the making... that's how good Oxford is.

Last year the Hartsdale Hellcats wound up fifth in the standings (77-77)... the Hellcats have been stuck there for 5 consecutive seasons... the last pennants came in back-to-back years 2046 and 2047... Hartsdale won the Pro Cup in '46... the mound staff has been truly amazing so far this season with a microscopically low 2.40 ERA (1st)... the bullpen is even better at 2.14 (4th)... offensively the club has been a little less than average with a .252 BA (20th), 93 runs (21st-tied) and 19 homers (20th-tied)... so far, so good... the second place Hellcats (15-9) are clinging close to first place Oxford, just a game behind them... if they continue to pitch anywhere near this good, they will seriously challenge the Red Caps for the TU North title... the pitching has been superb with starters Lew Clydesdale (5-0/1.80), Christopher Wolfe (3-1/1.14), Tommy Johnson (3-0/3.44), Cris Knighten (1-1/2.16) and Bradley Barr (1-1/1.06)... veteran closer Roy Krieger (0-1/3.06 ERA/9 saves/12 G) heads up a solid bullpen... the offense has been adequate, paced by 1B Al Wakefield (.322/6 HR/19 RBI/17 R), who is enjoying his best season ever... so is SS Walt Ivy (.330/3 HR/11 RBI/16 R/1 SB)... 2B Smokey Nix (.286/1 HR/7 RBI/12 R) and and backup OF Nathan Ivy (.400/2 HR/10 RBI/8) have been productive bats, too... maybe this year Hartsdale is first division bound... or better.

It's been 10 years since the Blue Lake Blue Sox won more games than they lost... for the previous 3 seasons they have been mired in 8th place... sadly, the last playoff appearance was in 2030... boy, the Blue Lake fans need a good season... could this be it?... it's a dream month for them... the team is hitting like crazy with a .290 BA (1st), scoring well with 103 runs (10th) and cracking a few homers (16 HR/26th-tied)... and would you believe the team ERA is a marvelous 2.85 (2nd) with the #1 bullpen (1.27 ERA)?... would you believer Blue Lake (14-9) is in third place, just 2 games out of first?... leading the starting rotation are Weldon Eddington (2-1/1.49), Bobby Layne (2-0/1.05), Eddie Lucas (2-2/3.83) and Jeff Galvan (1-2/2.14)... after losing 2 starts, Dookie Denham (4-2/4.02 ERA/1 save/9 G) switched to closer and has excelled with 4 victories and a save... the Blue Sox batters are led by C Daryl Monaghan (.338/2 HR/12 RBI/15 R/1 SB), CF Steve Schueler (.380/0 HR/7 RBI/13 R/2 SB), 1B Billy Blue (.344/2 HR/11 RBI/11 R) and 2B John Gilbert (.279/0 HR/11 RBI/8 R)... maybe the Blue Sox will rid themselves of the blues in 2059.

Two contenders, Luxora (12-11) and White River (12-11), are currently deadlocked in 4th place in the TU North standings, 4 games off the pace of Oxford... Luxora won the division last season and lost in the Pro Cup Finals to champion Crystal Lake in 5 games... the Zorros' slow start is caused by lousy hitting... 40 points lower than last year... the Z's are batting only .223 (32nd), but have scored 93 runs (21st-tied), mainly because of 22 home runs (13th-tied)... the mound corps has been fine with a 3.60 ERA (8th)... nobody is hitting well for average except for RF Omar Solis (.338/3 HR/8 RBI/8 R)... the top power guy is C Francisco Queiro (.279/5 HR/16 RBI/10 R)... and LF Marvin Harrelson (.247/3 HR/12 RBI/16 R/2 SB) has been productive, too... 1B Wayne Tibbs (.259/2 HR/14 RBI/11 R) batted .323 last year with 28 home runs, but has started slowly this year... 2B Ryo Nijo (.188/3 HR/8 RBI/5 R) and SS Felipe Alvares (.156/1 HR/4 RBI/7 R) have both been terrible so far this season... in '58 Nijo hit .280 with 18 roundtrippers and Alvares batted .303 with 10 home runs... on the positive side of the ledger Luxora pitching has held up, led by Mack McKitrick (4-1/2.30), Wallace MacPherson (2-3/2.79), Paolo De Freitas (1-1/2.96) and Juliano Machado (2-3/4.29)... the bullpen has been fine with Bartolo Baptista (0-0/3.21 ERA/6 saves/11 G) in the closer role... the Zorros should be fine once the offense perks up... Luxora could be in the hunt this year again... the Z's will not go away without a fight.

5th in the Tycobbian North standings are the White River Rascals (12-11)... they were a potent force in the division with 7 flags in 9 years (2048-2056), but not lately... last season the Rascals suffered their first losing season in 12 years, falling to 7th place... both pitching (3.93 ERA) and hitting (.240 BA) declined... the mound staff has improved (3.67 ERA/10th), but the run-scoring is pitiful, ranking dead last in the TU with only 78 runs (32nd), a .257 BA (17th) and 17 home-run swats (25th)... ace Greg Zacharie (3-1/1.83) is off to a very impressive start, aided by rookie Dink Scully (2-3/3.19) and vet Bobby Ralston (2-2/3.26)... veteran star CF Pudge Tate (.229/5 HR/19 RBI/10 R) has been the main RBI guy... the only other two modest contributors are RF Jed Small (.296/5 HR/10 RBI/13 R) and 2B Mark Gates (.301/2 HR/9 RBI/6 R)... it will be tough for White River to contend this year... with zero offense.

For the past 6 seasons North Hills (10-13) has been in pennant contention with first-division finishes... last year the Hawks were 4th, but just 3 games out of first... but this season the pitching has been woeful with a 4.48 ERA (26th) and the club has slipped to the 6th spot in the TU North... the offense is still productive with a .266 BA (12th) and 102 runs (11th-tied)... however, they lack the longball with just 11 HR (30th-tied)... the top bats are 1B Victor Bates (.367/2 HR/15 RBI/16 R) and star 2B Sam Dunstone (.346/1 HR/9 RBI/14 R), LF Clifton Mahaffey (.308/1 HR/8 RBI/11 R) and CF Nicky Pappas (.302/2 HR/13 RBI/7 R/1 SB)... the only good starter has been Denver Blissard (2-0/2.66)... 22-game winner and ace Eddy Salem (2-4/4.50) has struggled thus far in 6 starts... so has #2 Zip Harben (1-0/6.60)... Harben was 15-14 last year... no much in the bullpen, either... North Hills could get back in the hunt, if Salem and Harben get themselves straightened out... they will be the keys to contention.

Last year's cinderella club, Fairfax, came out of nowhere and almost snatched the division crown, losing out by just one single game to Luxora... it was a marvelous year for the Frogs (88-66)... solid hitting and solid pitching... alas, but not so this year, dearly beloved Fairfax fans... lo and behold the hurlers have gone to Hades with a 4.36 ERA (23rd) and Fairfax has slumped to 7th place (9-14) at the end of April... rookie 22-game winner Ronnie Custer (0-3/5.40) and 14-game winner Clyde Sowers (0-3/4.91) haven't won a game yet... and the IPA leader with 38 saves, Val Jackson (2-0/4.29 ERA/3 saves/13 G), has seen his ERA skyrocket... but give the Frogs some time to get revitalized... they will still probably make a racket in the TU North pennant chase... the offense is still there with LF Paddy Fenroy (.348/1 HR/9 RBI/14 R/3 SB), RF Rory Sutcliffe (.370/3 HR/15 RBI/13 R/1 SB), CF Wayne Clausen (.289/0 HR/12 RBI/13 R/2 SB) and 1B Skeeter Butler (.243/4 HR/17 RBI/9 R)... and this list doesn't include two of the best hitters: LF Ron Travis (12 G/.119/1 HR/3 RBI/3 R) and 2B Kirk Waner (21 G/.207/1 HR/3 RBI/5 RBI/2 SB), who are both in the throes of bad slumps this season... Travis (.330 BA) and Waner (.298 BA) each hit 23 out of park last year.

Last place in the Tycobbian North belongs to Mahaska (5-18)... the Haymakers have the worst record in the IPA this year... it's been 6 seasons since they posted a winning mark (85-70)... they lost a single-game playoff to Oxford in '52... you have to go back 3 decades for the last pennant (2028)... the Mahaska mound staff has a ghastly 5.81 ERA (32nd) and the offense is not a whole lot better with a .253 BA (19th), 89 runs (27th) and 25 homers (9th)... quality starters Pip Cordice (0-1/5.20) and Marty Mobley (1-3/5.88) have been blistered badly so far in the early going... Cordice won 19 games last year, while Mobley chalked up 21 victories... looks like another second-division finish and losing season for the Haymakers in '59.